


Counting Down to You

by silentglare



Series: Broken Timers [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Langst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, hunk/shay is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 18:44:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentglare/pseuds/silentglare
Summary: Everyone has a timer on their wrists, which counts down to the moment you meet your soulmate. It's small, written in black ink.Lance's has been stuck at 00:00:00 ever since he was born.





	Counting Down to You

Everyone has a soulmate. Whether it be platonic, romantic, the timer on your wrist confirms it. Counts down to the exact moment you meet your soulmate. And then, you’re left with a 00:00:00. 00 days, 00 months, 00 days. It means you found your soulmate.  
Or it means your timer is broken.

Lance had never really paid attention to the tattoo when he was little. It was about when he entered middle school when he started to take notice. Everyone had cool numbers. 38:23:21. 65:21:08. Always counting down.

His was stuck at 00:00:00.

When she asked his mom, she looked heartbroken. “It’s been like that since the way you were born.” 

When they took the class in high school about soulmates, Lance had felt out of place. He was the only one with a broken clock. Whenever people saw it, they would pat him on the back. “Good job buddy!” “Found your soulmate, huh?”

Whenever he told people his clock was broken, all he got was pity. So he started wearing bracelets, to cover the broken tattoo on his wrist. His favorite bracelet was a plain blue one. Reminded him of the ocean.  
Nobody asked him about his soulmate anymore after he covered the tattoo.

* * *

“Where the fuck-,” Lance looked around in panic. Where was his bracelet? It was way too hot in the castle (the air conditioning broke or something) for Lance to wear his jacket, or a long sleeved shirt for the matter. So he needed something to cover the timer with. His broken timer.  
And his bracelet was gone.

_Maybe Keith has some spare gloves_ , Lance thought, and he rushed over to Keith’s room. He was not up to anyone asking about his stupid, broken, tattoo. Not even Hunk knew about it. Nope.

“What?” Keith opened the door, after Lance had finished frantically knocking on it. He was _NOT_ wearing a shirt, which did not go well for Lance’s heart.

“Uh,” Lance blushed, quickly covering his wrist with his hand, then pointed to Keith’s gloves. “Do you happen to have another pair of gloves?” Keith raised his eyebrows.

“I think so,” he muttered, “wait here.” Keith went to look around in his room, leaving Lance thinking.  
He had a crush on Keith since...around the time Lotor came. He had given up on Allura, and then all of a sudden, his mind was plagued with thoughts about Keith. But he probably had a soulmate. So Lance decided he wouldn’t bother Keith with his feelings.

Aliens...didn’t have soulmates. That’s why Lance flirted with them _so_ often. At least, that’s what he thought. Apparently, even though they don’t have the mark, they do have soulmates. Hunk’s timer had led him right to Shay. Lance remembered how happy they were. They looked like they truly belong together. Lance didn’t flirt with other aliens as much anymore. He didn’t want to risk them not meeting their soulmate. The other paladins noticed, and they thought he had matured.

“I had an extra pair,” Keith laid the pair onto Lance’s palm. They were a beautiful shade of blue, causing Lance to gasp. “I figured you’d like them since they were, well, blue. You can keep them if you want, I never use them anyways.” 

“Thanks Keith,” Lance nodded, quickly sliding them on. They covered the mark perfectly. 

Keith seemed to shuffle around on his feet a bit. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need them?” Lance’s eyes widened a bit, before putting on a quick smile.

“I felt empty without my jacket, and I thought these gloves would do. And look? They work.” Lance did some cool jazz hands, before waving goodbye to Keith and getting the hell out of there.

No way was he telling him the real reason why.

* * *

Pidge, Hunk, Keith, and Lance were all sitting in the lounge area, just talking. “What’s with the gloves?” Hunk had asked, and Lance gave him the same excuse he gave Keith.

“How come nobody ever really talks about their soulmate marks?” Hunk asked, and the rest all shrugged. “Like seriously, I like hearing about people’s timers.”

“Mine isn’t set until another 10 years,” Pidge sighed, closing her book. “I take it that it’s after we’re done being Voltron or whatever. Hope they’re not too disappointed with the fact that I’m aromantic _AND_ asexual.”

“If they’re your true soulmate, then they shouldn’t have a problem,” Keith pointed out, Hunk and Lance nodding in agreement.

“What about you, Lance?” Hunk asked, tilting his head. “Whenever I ask you about your mark, you always avoid the subject.” Lance glanced at his wrist, covered by ocean blue leather.

“It’s just,” Lance muttered, gripping his wrist, “not something I like talking about.” He felt all three of his friend’s eyes on him, and he was sure they were concerned. Whatever.

“Um,” Hunk looked over at Keith, “what about you, Keith?” Keith scoffed, glaring at his wrist.

“I could give two shits about this soulmate shit. Like, no offense Hunk, it seemed to work for you, but to me the whole thing seems to be bullshit.” Lance’s eyes widened at Keith’s outburst. Did he have a...bad experience? His soulmate didn’t _die_ , did they? He didn’t want to press it though.

“Uh,” Lance coughed, changing the subject, “Hunk, do you think you could make some alien space goo pizza or something? Personal favorite of mine, to be honest.”

“Yeah, sure!” Hunk exited the room quickly, and Lance didn’t blame him. He snuck a quick glance at Keith, who was...staring at him?

Lance waved, but Keith didn’t seem to even acknowledge him. “Keith? Buddy? Hello?” Suddenly, Keith jolted out of his gaze, looking confused.

“Sorry, I just spaced out,” Keith apologized, his face a bit red. He was probably just embarrassed. Lance already knew his face was flushed. Keith staring at him? And not in an angry way? A dream come true.

“Gay,” Pidge whispered, and Lance smacked her arm.

* * *

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

There was a knock on his bedrooms door. He opened it and found Keith.

“Uh, hey? Did you need something?” Lance laughed awkwardly.

“Can I come in?” Keith asked quickly, and his hearts beat quicken. 

“Yeah! Yeah, come on in. Just sit down on my bed or whatever.” Lance waited until Keith came in, and then he shut the door. What could he possibly want? His gloves back or something? He took a seat next to Keith on his bed. “So, what did ya want?”

“Can I see your timer?” 

“No.” Lance pulled his wrist away from Keith, defensively. “Why do you want to see it so bad?” Keith sighed, seeming impatient.

“I just, I just need to check something,” he responded, “It’s just a timer. Just a stupid tattoo on your wrist. Why won’t you show me?”

Lance almost laughed. “It’s not just a timer, dumbass. It leads you to your soulmate. I think that’s a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever!” Keith rolled his eyes, “so why won’t you show me yours?” Lance glared at Keith. He really didn’t like arguing with him, but he was always so persistent and stubborn whenever they argued! Though Lance presumed he was the same way. “Lance, come on! I need to make sure of something! Just show me your damn clock!”

“No!” Lance finally snapped, getting up. “I’m not showing you my damn clock. I don’t-,” his face faltered, looking into Keith’s eyes. They looked worried. “I don’t-,” he could feel tears in his eyes. Not now not now not now, especially not in front of Keith. “I-,” he frantically tried to wipe the tears away, and Keith stood up, pulling Lance into a hug.

“I don’t always like to...assume things like this,” Keith murmured into Lance’s ear, “but I think whatever is wrong with your clock is the same thing wrong with mine.” Lance felt his whole body stiffen. He stepped back, pulling away from their hug. He glanced at Keith’s wrist. Now that he thought about it, it was always covered by a glove, and when he tried on Keith’s extra pair, they had covered the mark _perfectly_.

With his hands shaking, Lance slid the leather glove off his right hand. There was his timer, at the same numbers it had been at birth. 00:00:00. He watched as Keith stepped forward, removing the glove on his right hand, showing the numbers. 00:00:00.

“It’s been like that since I was born,” Keith whispered, looking up at Lance. “I used to always ask myself, _what does this mean? Am I not meant to love anybody? Am I broken?_ Eventually, I just started thinking the whole soulmate thing itself was bullshit.

Yet here you are, with the same thing.”

Lance dropped the glove he was holding. Keith possibly, possibly could not be implying what he thought he was implying. There was no way in hell.

“I’ve seen a lot of stuff online, about soulmate identifying marks. I always thought it was just a myth, but now I wonder.” Keith grabbed Lance’s wrists, examining it with his own. Lance felt himself turn bright red.

“I...maybe.” Lance looked away as Keith brought his gaze up. He could not look at Keith while he said this. It was make it _impossible._ “It wouldn’t be too far-fetched, considering I, uh, actually have a crush on you and everything.” He felt Keith’s grip on his wrist tighten. Was he mad? He glanced back, and Keith looked...in awe.

“You-,” Keith shook his head. Why did he look so surprised? “You actually _like_ me back?”

“What?” Lance’s eyes widened. “Wait, you like me?” 

Keith looked even more surprised. “Since when?!”

“I don’t know man!” _He actually likes me back he actually likes me back he actually likes me back._ “Like, a while ago! Ever since I found out I liked you, I’ve been crazy about you!” How red was his face right now? He didn't want to know. He felt like he was living a dream. 

“I found out like...6 months ago? Maybe more? It’s been a while,” Keith’s cheeks were flushed. “Ever since then, I found myself in instances where I couldn’t even stop thinking about you.” He gazed down to his own wrist and his eyes widened. Lance looked down at his own wrist as well.

The mark was gone.

“What does this mean?” Lance whispered, looking at Keith. “Why is it gone all of a sudden?” The mark. The timer. The clock. His broken clock. The one that plagued his life. That entered his nightmares.

Gone.

“Maybe, if our clocks really were our ‘marks’, it disappeared because we realized we are soulmates?” Keith suggested, and Lance bit his lip. That really did make a lot of sense.

“What kind of mark is a fucking clock though?” Lance complained. “Like seriously, what kind of bullshit?”

“I don’t know,” Keith laughed shakily, “man, when I joined Team Voltron, I never expected to find my soulmate, and I _really_ didn’t expect for my soulmate be YOU.”

“Me neither,” Lance laughed awkwardly with Keith, but it quickly died down. They both sat on the bed, just looking at each other. They were soulmates. They liked each other back. And it wasn’t a dream.

“Can I kiss you?” Lance asked suddenly, surprised at himself for acting bold. Keith inhaled sharply, before quickly nodding. 

Taking both his hands, Lance cusped both of Keith’s cheeks but hesitated. His eyes were like bluish gray, but under this lighting, they looked almost purple. “You have really pretty eyes,” he murmured, causing Keith to blush. Lance leaned forward, and their lips met. 

Keith eventually pulled away, both of them left breathless. “That was my first kiss, believe it or not,” Lance smirked, and Keith groaned.

“I would have never guessed,” Keith replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Yet he took Lance’s hand, smiling. “So, uh, are we going out now? Dating? Because I’d be fine with that.”

“Uh, I’d be _more_ than fine with that,” Lance laughed, pulling Keith up with him and dragging him to the door. “I think we should tell the others too.”

Keith’s eyes widened, “are you sure?” He asked, and Lance nodded. 

“I feel like I owe it to them, especially Hunk. I left him in the dark, he’s my best friend, I-,” Lance sighed, looking at the door.

“Then let’s tell him,” Keith smiled gently, but that gently smile quickly turned into a grin. He let go of Lance’s hand, and started sprinting out the door. “Race ya!” He called out, and Lance scrambled after him fast, determined to win.

But it wouldn’t matter if Lance didn’t win.

Because he already felt like he won.


End file.
